Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, has written to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and other social media platforms, urging it not to remove links to the political parody song ‘Pottiye Kettiye’, which has sparked controversy in the State.

Satheesan’s appeal to the US-based tech major follows reports that the Kerala Police have sought the removal of the song’s links from social media platforms. In a statement issued by his office on Friday, the Congress leader said that taking down the content without a court order would amount to a violation of fundamental rights.

In his letter to Meta, Satheesan pointed out that there is currently no judicial verdict, court order or statutory direction mandating the removal of the parody song. “As of date, there is no legal direction requiring the takedown of this content,” he said.

Citing Supreme Court rulings, the Leader of the Opposition stressed that the right to freedom of speech and expression cannot be curtailed unless there is a clearly established violation of law. He argued that in a democracy governed by the rule of law, any restriction on speech, especially artistic expressions such as parody or satire, must strictly follow due process.

“Parody and satire are well-recognised forms of expression protected under the constitutional guarantee of free speech, subject only to reasonable restrictions imposed through lawful and judicially sanctioned means,” Satheesan wrote. He cautioned that administrative or police requests, in the absence of a competent court order, should not be the basis for content removal, as such actions could amount to prior restraint and set a dangerous precedent for censorship.

Satheesan further warned that arbitrary takedowns could cause irreparable harm to content creators. He urged Meta to refrain from removing or disabling access to the song’s links unless a court issues a clear directive or unless the content is found, after independent assessment, to be in clear violation of community standards.

The parody song, which is based on a popular Lord Ayyappa devotional track, makes references to the Sabarimala gold loss case and the alleged role of prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty. The song was used by both the Congress-led UDF and the BJP during campaigning for the recent Kerala local body elections.

The controversy escalated after the Cyber Crimes Wing registered a case against the song’s writer and singer on charges of allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The move has drawn sharp criticism from the UDF, which termed the police action an encroachment on artistic freedom and pledged full legal and political support to the artists.

The Opposition has also criticised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing the Left government of allowing the police action and alleging that it is following the same path as the Sangh Parivar in curbing dissent and creative expression.

PTI